How AI companions intersect with social isolation

For better or for worse, this year had it all — from the AI industry shaping the global economy and our lives, to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) taking over U.S federal agencies under Elon Musk’s leadership. In today’s episode, Zoë and WIRED’s executive editor Brian Barrett get together to reflect on some of this year’s key moments — and how they give us important clues as to what we can expect this upcoming year. 

Articles mentioned in this episode: 

• The AI Data Center Boom Is Warping the US Economy | WIRED
• The US Needs an Open Source AI Intervention to Beat China | WIRED
• DOGE Is the Deep State | WIRED
• ICE Wants to Build Out a 24/7 Social Media Surveillance Team | WIRED
• The FBI's Jeffrey Epstein Prison Video Had Nearly 3 Minutes Cut Out | WIRED

Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian's newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests.